Interesting points brought up in yesterdays webcast Part II.I thought I recognized that voice...Kevin Cosgrove ex BBC commentator and producer!

Talking about Vadim Tolstolutsky:Players can mature a little later in the US due to most being in college for at least 2 if not 4 years. In other countries 22 would be late to start a professional career but here it will probably be the norm. Players at this age have played less and still have potential in the professional game. I think that players who have been to college will have a bit more maturity (cf. English League players into the system at 18 or even 16!!) will be less susceptible to burn out, and also will have some career to fall back on in the notoriously precarious world of professional sport.

How did the Sounders let such a high scoring pair go. Darren Sawatzky was a free agent and the 2 draft picks were seen as compensation for Greg Howes. Seattle saw this as a bit of a rebuilding year especially seeing as many other players would not be returning.

Links with Foreign clubs. The early NASL days of a lack of US players is now over, with College and Professional play now much closer in quality. This means that A-League teams have a maximum of 5 overseas players (Canada included). The advantage of linking with countries such as Ireland, Holland and Belgium is that their employment laws make the 2-way exchange of players easier. The problem with the English Premier League is the strict labour laws which make it difficult for US players to work there. Any link with the English Leagues will probably be reserves/youth coming here in the summer to get experience.

Gavin Wilkinson – shown interest but still in negotiation with agent.Carlos R – same situation.

Bobby would like a squad ideally by mid April. Pre-Season training will start April 2nd and he hopes to have signed 8-10 players by then. The other 8 will compete for places in the camp/pre-season games.

Greg Howes is under contract to Milwaukee Wave for the end of the season. The season finishes April 18th but if last year is anything to go by (and this seasons standings) the Wave will be in the play-offs. Bobby joked that he will be watching the results with interest, not that he wants Greg’s team to do badly!!

The Timbers will be running three-tiered youth camps as part of their community commitments.

News UpdateIt seems as if the Timbers are in the early stages of some kind of media blitz. Bobby and Greg Howes took part in the OregonLive Chat tonight. The whole segment will be archived but among the things talked about were:

The differences in fitness required in indoor and outdoor soccer (Greg is doing extra aerobic fitness exercises to get him up to speed for the outdoor game)

A possible link with Mexican First Division club Chivas of Guadalajara.

Pre-season games in Portland vs High School teams (behind closed doors) and in Seattle vs Seattle Sounders, the Vancouver Whitecaps and the University of Washington.

Bobby expressed his wish that the first time that the Portland fans see the team should be on May 11 at PGE Park, hence the lack of public pre-season games in the Portland area.There will also be a press conference 10am tomorrow,(Tues. February 27) where the latest Timbers signings will be announced.

An article in the new Portland Tribune brings us the exciting news that Timbers signing Greg Howes' nickname is... Howesy. Stay tuned for more nickname news...we may even have a player who is known as Ginger Balls before long!!The article also tells us that Howes and former striking partner Darren Sawatzky, who is expected to sign early next week, are excited to be together again in the Timbers front-line. Howes would like to get 20 goals this season, one of his major assets is his ability to use both feet.

That makes me very unpredictable. Defenders show me to my left foot, and i'm not afraid to take what they give me. I think I score more with my left foot than with my right.

An earlier report about the Timbers, Bohemians, Kilkenny menage-a-trois. It will be interesting to see how many players currently playing overseas will sign on loan to the Timbers and return to their clubs in the close season. It will also be interesting to see how many leagues potential switch to summer football in Europe will affect this plan.There is an interesting article about the summer switch here. Ireland has had a bad winter and one person calling for summer football there has been Kilkenny boss Joe McGrath.

The other Timbers connection that has been mentioned a few times is one with Manchester City. There doesn't seem to be any concrete news on this although current first team coach Willie Donachie used to play for the (old) Timbers so it's a possibility that this rumour may turn out to be true.

More news from the Emerald Isle. It's reported that three players currently playing for Kilkenny will be joining the Timbers when their commitments in the FAI Cup are over (they play Bohemians in early March).The three are:New Zealand International Gavin Wilkinson, a central midfield/defender who has played in Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore prior to playing in Ireland.Keeper Matt Nelson who previously played for Columbus Crew.Portugese Carlos Rocha who played for the New England Revolution.

The Irish side Bohemians FC have reported an exchange deal with the Timbers.

Bohs could be about to link up with American regional side the Portland Timbers . The deal would involve a player exchange with Bohs players going to America in the Summer and the Timbers players coming to Dalymount during our winter . Former Bohs Player Jimmy Conway is the man behind the proposed tie up as he is currently a coach in Portland .

Still getting the feel of how the various US soccer leagues fit together but here are some interesting dates for the calander which may (or may not)have an effect on the Timbers.

Today is the MLS cut down day, rosters must be cut to 21.Teams can then list 21 senior players on their rosters until March 26, when they must cut down to the regular-season limit of 18 players. Spring training in Florida concludes March 24 making it the final proving ground for players before the final cut.

Another signing rumour, via Paul Schmidt (always an interesting poster) on the OregonLive Timbers Forum, that the Timbers have signed Canadian International Jeff Clarke.Clarke was playing for the Edmonton Drillers in the NPSL until that club closed it's doors late last year. He was then drafted to the Baltimore Blast and has played 9 games for them this season.

The aforementioned interview with Jim Taylor included a reference to 2 Portsmouth FC players who have visited Portland for the "mini-camps". According to Pompey supporters the 2 players are Neil and Joe McNab, the two having being released by Portsmouth recently. The two are identical twins (age 21) and the sons of the Portsmouth reserve coach.

Two very good players, if lacking in size, almost impossible to tell apart. Joe is rated as the better of the two, they are competitive, tigerish players who are quick, skilful and direct. Both are essentially midfield players, preferrring to play wide. Should be a real asset but not quite up to English First Division standard.

An interview with Jim Taylor the Timber's General Manager.A bit of background about how the Timbers came back to Portland; the A-League v. MLS; the possibility of a future W-league team; a possible Portsmouth connection; and a marketing tie-in with local automotive and sportswear store G.I Joe's. Just some of the topics covered.

An interesting 2-part (Part 1 & Part 2)interview with Clive Charles, both Men and Women’s coach at the U of Portland and the US Olympic team's Coach for the last Olympics. He mentions the problems he experienced with the press underestimating the US team and also his view that soccer in the US cannot stand up to the same level of critical scrutiny that it gets countries where soccer is a well established game. He also talks about supporting the Timbers and filling the stands whether the team is successful or not.

Charles: We have to go and support the teams. [Soccer] is still a sport in this country where if you win, we'll go. If you play well, we'll go. In the rest of the world, they go to support their team. You can play as bad as you want and if you win the game, whew! Thank God we won the game! We've still got to support our teams. We're getting an A-League team here in Portland [the Timbers]. I'm going to go watch the matches. We have to watch the games. We can't not go because we can't criticize if we don't go. We have to fill the stands because it will go away if we don't go. We have to support our local teams. I'm not saying the reporters have to report wrongly, if it was a good game or wasn't, I'm just think they're too quick to criticize.

As Kyrgyzstan fever mounts, news that the small Central Asian, former Soviet Republic, is currently in the middle it's qualifying struggle for World Cup 2002. Pitched in a group with Kuwait, Bahrain and Singapore, they have currently won one ( v. Singapore 1-Nil) and lost one (v. Bahrain 1-Nil) and play Kuwait tomorrow.

After signing Greg Howes yesterday on a trade with the Sounders, the Oregonian reports that the remaining draft pick will be used to bring Vadim Tolstolutsky, a native of Kyrgyzstan currently playing at Seattle Pacific University, to Portland.Here are a couple of links to stories about Greg and Vadim.